Burn It Down (We'll Turn The Ashes Into Fire)
by EmilyFuckingFitch
Summary: "Don't burn down the city, he says. Watch your temper, he says. Minimize collateral damage, he says," Shaw mutters, opening the door to an apartment complex and walking through it. Superpowers AU
1. Chapter 1

"Don't burn down the city, he says. Watch your temper, he says. Minimize collateral damage, he says," Shaw mutters, opening the door to an apartment complex and walking through it.

_"He does have a point, Shaw."_

Shaw scoffs as she presses the elevator button. "Whose side are you on, Cole?"

_"Look, I'm just saying. Maybe part of the reason why we got kicked out the ISA is because you couldn't control your—"_

"I can control it just _fine," _Shaw cuts him off. She's anything but reckless. She's been controlling her flames since she was a child. And she knows that when she gets angry, they become more intense than usual. But she's got it locked down. Honestly.

Okay. Maybe she does take a little more risks than the average person, and maybe she's got a shorter fuse compared to the average person, but it's _calculative _risk taking, and it's _healthy_ anger. Not everyone is walking around shitting happiness and rainbows and kumbaya, and not everyone should. She's right along the normal spectrum of things.

The elevator dings.

"And you and I both know that's not the reason why they tried to kill us out of the ISA," Shaw argues as she walks into the elevator, and presses the button to level five.

The doors close, and the elevator begins to shift.

_"They wouldn't have known if you didn't burn that building to the ground."_

At that, she grumbles, but she doesn't argue. Because she knows he's right. During her time in the ISA with Cole, they'd both destroyed more things than they could remember, costing the city millions. And all they'd gotten in return was a scold, a tap on the hand. As long as they were killing the bad guys, they didn't bat an eye at them, didn't think to do any research on them. But right when they saw _how _she was causing so much destruction—that damn camera she'd forgotten to short circuit—they put a hit on her and Cole.

No fucking mutants. Shaw scoffs. Mutants are saving their city, and yet they have the nerve to try and kill the good guys.

Whatever, she thinks. She doesn't need them. Cole doesn't need them. Neither of them do.

Still, she can't help but think about how, had she been more careful, they'd still be in the ISA, instead of working for a sketchy billionaire, telling her to prevent other mutants and humans from committing crimes instead of just killing them off—or as Finch put it:

"We're saving lives, Ms. Shaw. We can't make any judgments of their character, nor assume that they cannot change."

The thing is, after a month of being in this rag tag team, she still doesn't even _know _where he gets all his intel from. All she knows is that Finch gets migraines now and again and his sidekick packs a mean punch—she found that out first hand after her temper got, well, out of hand.

The elevator door opens.

"Well, that guy deserved it," Shaw eventually says. "And besides, I don't kill any bystanders, so."

Cole snorts into the com link, and Shaw has to resist the urge not to go back downstairs and burn his face off.

_"Let's try to set our goals a little higher than that."_

"Whatever," Shaw mutters, walking out of the elevator. "I save lives. That's all that matters."

_"Right. Anyway, room 417 is to the left down the hall. I'll stand guard outside. You know the usual protocol. Hit the com link if you need any backup."_

"You know I won't," Shaw says cockily, and disconnects the line. She starts walking down the corridor, and stops in front of room 417. She tries to open the door, and unsurprisingly, it's locked.

There are more subtle ways to open the door. She could ask the maid that she'd forgotten her keys and needs an extra set. She could melt the doorknob down, carefully, until the locks are loose enough to push through easily. Or, you know, she could try knocking.

But Shaw hears a man yelp from inside the room, and she thinks, fuck it. Saving a life is much more important than the door she's about to break.

She flicks her wrist, and fire shoots out of her hand. She takes a step back, and punches through the door. It cracks in half, its broken edges singed black, and the pieces fall to the floor in a loud thud.

Shaw steps inside, expecting to find two men fighting. Or some guns. Or blood.

What she doesn't expect to find, however, is a woman taping the mouth of an unconscious man on the chair.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," the woman says cheerily, her back still towards Shaw as she flattens the tape on his face.

Shaw approaches her carefully, readies her hands in case this woman tries something funny on her. "Who are you?"

The woman turns around, a smug smile her face.

"You can call me Root," she answers as she walks over to the desk. She places her hand on the computer and closes her eyes, inhaling. The lights start flickering, the ceiling fan spins a little too erratically, and then Root opens her eyes, her eyes glowing white.

A mutant, Shaw realizes, as she ignites fire from her hands.

The power in the room shuts down, and Root's eyes revert back to brown.

"I've been just dying to meet you," Root grins.

There's that smirk on her face again and irritation burns inside Shaw. There's something about this woman that makes Shaw want to light herself on fire.

Or better yet, light _her _on fire.

Shaw smirks to herself. She's sure Finch won't mind. Just this once.

She lights fire in her right hand and blasts it straight at Root. Not enough to kill her, not enough to melt her, just enough to give her first-degree burns.

But right as it comes in contact with Root, it dissipates, leaving Root unscathed and her smile still intact.

Shaw frowns.

"Don't be like that, Shaw. I'm an ally," Root pouts, pulling out a pair of cuffs from her back pocket as she walks towards her.

"Excuse me if I'm not so convinced," Shaw grits out, increasing the temperature of her blasts, but still, Root's deflecting them…_somehow._

What is this girl?

Root grabs Shaw's hand mid-throw, locking the cuff to her wrist.

"I didn't want to use this, Shaw," Root says, though her tone doesn't sound very apologetic as she cuffs her other wrist.

Shaw scoffs. "If you think that's going to hold me—"

"I do," Root says confidently, the look on her face daring Shaw to convince her otherwise as she tightens her grip on Shaw's wrists.

She obviously didn't do her research, Shaw thinks, if she thinks metal—metal that she can easily melt off her hands—can do anything to stop her.

She flicks her wrists, but heat doesn't generate in her hands. She scrunches her eyebrows, looks at her hands as she tries to flick them again, and still, nothing.

She hears a deep inhale from Root, and she looks up to see that Root's eyes are glowing red.

This bitch.

Root smiles, leaning in to her ear.

"Thanks for the pick-me-up," Root says lowly. She pulls back, but not before giving Shaw a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you soon," Root says, winking, and walks towards the window. She jumps out of it, even though they're four stories high.

This crazy bitch.

She nudges her ear with her shoulder, turning her com link on.

_"Shaw, you won't believe this. I just saw a chick jump out of the building."_

"Trust me, I would," Shaw mutters. "I need you to come up here."

_"Am I hearing what I'm hearing? That The Sameen Shaw needs back up."_

"Shut up, Cole, and just come up here and get me out of these cuffs," Shaw says irritably. She's not in a mood to banter with Cole right now. Not when she's just lost a fight. Not when her powers for some reason won't fucking work and she's a little afraid that they won't come back.

_"…can't you melt them off?"_

"I…" Shaw hesitates. "I can't right now."

Cole must hear the traces of fear in her voice, because he stops teasing her.

_"I'll be right there."_

"Thanks, Cole," Shaw says. "And don't turn into a wolf again. You know how well that turned out the last time you did that in an apartment complex."

Cole groans.

_"That was one time."_


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure there's something special about these cuffs, Shaw?" Cole puts the cuffs near his nose and sniffs them. "They just smell like ordinary steel to me."

He inhales again. "And floral perfume."

Shaw sits down on the passenger seat next to him, and closes the door.

"Are you sure?"

Cole sighs, and sniffs them one more time.

"Positive," Cole confirms, but Shaw isn't convinced. He throws the pair of handcuffs to the backseat of the car, and starts the engine.

"You wanna tell me what really happened back there, Shaw?"

She scowls as she looks down at her hands, tries to generate flames. To her chagrin, only sparks come out. She lets out a frustrated groan.

"I went in, knocked down the door to find the girl taping the guy's face," Shaw recalls as she tries to light fire from the palms of her hands. "Next thing I know she's touching a computer and her eyes glow white, and the power goes out. I tried to blast her, but none of them hit her."

Shaw frowns to herself, registering how awful that sounds. She's a _damn _good shot, damn it.

"I mean, they did," Shaw corrects. "But they didn't faze her. And then she puts those cuffs on me and her eyes glowed red and then I just…_couldn't_," she huffs, and suddenly, fire emanates from her hands.

Cole cocks an eyebrow. "Sounds like you've got more of a performance problem than anything, Shaw."

Shaw narrows her eyes at him, and he lifts his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Touchy subject. My bad."

Shaw scoffs, shaking his head, because it's not about that. It's the fact that in all her years since her power manifested, this has never happened. There have been times when she's caused flames without meaning to, and there've been times when all she could create were wisps, embers. But never was there a time when she couldn't produce flames at all.

So what happened back there? What happened back there was an anomaly. An impossibility, really. And if this woman named Root is able to make that impossibility happen…

She looks back at her hands.

"If it's not from the cuffs, then this woman—_Root_—she's dangerous, Cole. If she's able to just…" Shaw closes her palms. "take my power from me, who knows what else she can do."

"Is that such a bad thing, what happened back there?" Shaw gives him a skeptical look. "I mean, wasn't that what you've always wanted? Ever since it—"

"Don't talk about them," Shaw growls, outstretching her hands reflex, causing flames to burst from her fingertips. He doesn't get to talk about what happened. He doesn't know a damn thing about what happened.

"Hey, not in the car!" Cole whines, trying to cover her hands with his own, wincing at the heat. "These are leather seats."

"Then don't. Bring. Them. Up," Shaw warns, raising the temperature of her hands.

"Okay, okay," Cole hisses, taking his hands off and trying to blow them cool.

The corners of Shaw's lips twitch upwards, and she relents.

"Look, I get it," Cole says in between blows. "She's dangerous. We can go back to Finch's and ask him what he knows about her, put his brain to good use. And then we can hunt her down."

Shaw quirks an eyebrow, surprised that he actually offered a good suggestion.

"Get a move on it, then."

"Can't drive with singed hands," Cole sulks.

"Quit whining," Shaw says, rolling her eyes. "They'll heal in a minute, as always."

"You know, Shaw." Cole puts the car into gear. "Sometimes I think you're just keeping me around because you can burn me all you want and I'll still survive them."

Shaw gives him a half-smile. "You figured me out. Congratulations," Shaw says sarcastically. "Now drive."

* * *

"Ms. Shaw, Mr. Cole," Finch greets, turning his chair to face towards them as they walk through the threshold. "I didn't expect you two to come back so early."

"Yeah, well," Shaw says, stopping in front of his desk. "We had a bit of a run-in with a vigilante."

"Oh?"

"Technically," Cole cuts in, "we're all vigilantes in this room but—"

Shaw rolls her eyes and interrupts him, cutting to the chase. "Do you know of a woman named Root?"

Finch gives them a quizzical look. "Root?"

"Yeah, Root. She's the woman who got there before me. Her eyes light up when she touches things, and—"

"He led me down another dead end, Harold," Root announces as she enters the room.

Shaw's eyes land on her, and her blood boils.

"_Her._"

Root winks at Shaw. "Told you I'd see you again."

Finch looks between the two of them. "You're referring to Ms. Groves as Root?"

"You _know _her?" Shaw asks, appalled.

"I told you not to call me Ms. Groves anymore, Harold," Root scolds.

"She's kinda hot, Shaw," Cole comments, turning to Shaw. "Why didn't you tell me she was hot?"

Root gives him a half-hearted smile, though her eyes are condescending. "Charming."

"We didn't finish our conversation earlier, Root," Shaw grinds through her teeth, white fire igniting from the palm of her hand.

Root grins widely.

_"Please don't, Ms. Shaw. Ms. Groves has the ability to absorb any type of energy, including yours. I'd rather not risk my library burning down if you miss."_

Shaw glares at him, though she extinguishes her flames. "Get out of my head," Shaw snarls.

Root pouts. "You always ruin all the fun, Harold."

Shaw ignores her and turns her attention to Finch, scrutinizing him. "How can you trust her?"

"Because she's where we've been getting our intelligence," Finch explains.

Shaw gives him a confused look. "You said our intel came from the machine."

Root grins, as though she knows something that Shaw doesn't.

Shaw scowls. Seriously, if Root keeps this up then Finch can't possible hold Shaw responsible for what she does to Root.

"I _am_ The Machine."

"What?" Cole and Shaw ask at the same time, incredulously.

Root taps her head with her index finger.

"Precognition."

"She also has the ability to know when things happen before they happen," Finch clarifies.

She looks at Finch accusingly. They're a _team. _Which means that they're supposed to trust each other. Not telling her and Cole that they had another person on it doesn't really benefit any of them.

It doesn't make any sense. Why did he keep this from them? If Root really is here to work the same numbers as them?

Unless…unless there's something else he's hiding from them too, something bigger.

Shaw frowns. What isn't he telling them?

"Wait," Cole says, trying to wrap his head around what the both of them are saying. "Then why'd you cuff Shaw if you're with us?"

"Oh," Root says offhandedly. "I knew Shaw wouldn't take my presence very well."

Finch sighs. "You do have a habit of coming on a bit strong, Ms. Groves."

"I guess you could say that I just melt under the heat," Root smirks.

Shaw rolls her eyes.

"But you've never crashed any of our other missions before," Cole says, trying to connect the dots. "Why now?"

"That man turned out to be highly relevant." Root pauses. "Well, was."

Shaw's eyebrows furrow. "What do you mean?"

Root tilts her head, confused as to why Shaw's asking her this question. Then, as though she'd realize something, turns her attention to Finch.

"You didn't catch them up on everything, did you, Harold."

Finch shakes his head. "No, there hasn't been a right time."

Annoyance flashes across Root's face.

"When _is _the right time? When Greer takes over New York City? Or how about the world? Would it be the right time _then, _Harold?"

Finch slams his hand on the desk. "Do not question my intentions, Ms. Groves," Finch says, ire brimming under the surface. "I needed Shaw to learn how to exercise more control before I told her. It would have been unwise to not do so."

"We don't have much of a choice," Root counters.

Really? Shaw rolls her eyes. She really doesn't have the patience to deal with their bickering.

"Hey," Shaw interrupts. "What haven't you been telling us?"

Root looks at Shaw, lingering irritation still on her features.

"There's a bigger threat in the city, Sameen." Root walks over to Finch's computer, leans down and starts typing. "What you were doing this past month with Finch? What you were doing the past few years with ISA? That was child's play."

"What do you mean?" Shaw asks, not following what Root's saying. If there was a bigger threat, shouldn't she have known of it by now? Shouldn't she have been assigned to it by now, through the ISA, or through Finch? Shouldn't there be more chaos out there in the city than there is?

Root presses enter, and a man's picture pops up.

"What I mean is _this_ man." Shaw looks at the screen, but doesn't recognize him. "His name is Greer."

Shaw still doesn't follow. "What's so special about him? He's just an old guy."

"He's not an ordinary man, Shaw." Root types in something else, and his information is brought to the forefront. "He's a mutant, like us."

Shaw quirks an eyebrow. "And?" Shaw leans down, scanning through the data displayed on the computer. "I know there are more mutants out there in the world, Root, and I've dealt with them before. I don't see how he's a thre—"

And then she sees it.

Mind manipulation.

Root purses her lips. "Do you understand now, Shaw? Why he's dangerous?"

"Well, we can't just assume he's a threat, right?" Cole counters. "I mean, your powers are pretty dangerous too, but we haven't put you down."

Root gives him a withering glare. "Don't you dare compare me to him, Cole. I'm actually trying to save the world, he's trying to control it." Root points at the computer screen. "And he _will_ succeed if we don't stop him."

"How do you know for sure?" Cole asks skeptically.

"Because I _know._ I've seen it," Root answers irritably. "I don't know how yet, but if we don't do something to change that, it's going to happen."

A pair of footsteps echo down the stairs.

It's Reese.

"You just have the best timing, Captain America," Root sneers.

Reese narrows his eyes at Root, but doesn't say anything to her.

"You guys about done here, Finch?" Reese asks.

Finch looks at Root and sees her nod at him.

"I suppose—for the day, at least." Finch turns to face Cole and Shaw. "I do apologize for keeping this from you two," he says sincerely. "I didn't want you two to be involved until it was absolutely necessary." Finch sighs, shaking his head. "I thought we had more time."

Finch looks back at Root and asks, "Do you have any place to stay while you're in town, Ms. Groves?"

"No." Root shrugs. "I was hoping you'd be gracious enough to loan me one of your safehouses."

Finch nods. "Ms. Shaw, do you mind lending Ms. Groves a room for the time being?"

Shaw grumbles, still unhappy with Finch keeping information from them. "Do I have a choice?"

Root smiles wickedly, biting her lower lip.

"Hey," Cole whispers, elbowing Shaw's ribs lightly. "You need back up?"

Shaw elbows him back more roughly. Does he really think that she can't deal with Root if she needs to?

"I can handle myself, Cole."

Cole looks at her warily, but eventually nods. "Alright," he says, before walking over to Reese. "You ready to spar, Reese?"

"Only if you're ready to lose again."

"I've got your patterns down," Cole bolsters, pretending to punch and dodge as though he's in a boxing match. "Now I just need to figure out your weakness."

Reese shakes his head, but entertains him anyway and starts walking towards their sparring room. "You're real lucky that you can heal faster than the average man, Cole."

Cole scoffs as he follows Reese steps. "Luck's got nothing on me, man. It's all skill."

Shaw rolls her eyes at him. That makes absolutely no sense.

"Well?" Root asks expectantly. "Aren't you going to welcome me home to our apartment, Shaw?"

Shaw narrows her eyes at her. "You try anything funny, I will burn you alive."

Root grins, loops her arm around Shaw's.

"Looking forward to it."


End file.
